From "The Condition of Being Here," the inaugural exhibition of the Menil Drawing Institute, opening Oct. 7, 2017: Jasper Johns, Study for 1st Version of Map (Based on Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion Airocean ... more

Photo: The Menil Collection

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Sneak peek: Inside the Menil Drawing Institute

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Mark your 2017 calendars, art fans: Houston's new Menil Drawing Institute will open Oct. 7 with a landmark exhibition inside and festivities across new park spaces that are reshaping the storied Menil Collection campus.

The first exhibition inside the new building -- "The Condition of Being Here: Drawings by Jasper Johns" -- celebrates the Institute's relationship with a seminal living artist and will be seen nowhere else.

Designed by Johnston Marklee, the $40 million Institute will be full of architectural features that have never been attempted before, including signature white steel canopies that are 60 feet long, razor thin and angled like folded paper.

The canopies are due to arrive soon, and the rest of the building is nearly complete. You can read more about how the building was designed and the upcoming exhibits the Menil Drawing Institute at houstonchronicle.com.